Today’s Scrip-Bit   7 December 2021 Romans 8:37.

07 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Romans 8:37.     Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.

Oh mih bredrin, we moving on! Yes, we conquered Monday, and we going to do the same to Tuesday! Glory be! And how could we not be conquerors when we have a conquering Lord and Saviour named Jesus Christ! As the Good Book so confidently declares of us: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) Yes friends, with the LOVE of Christ flowing through, over and under us, how can we be anything but mighty conquerors eh? And yuh know what too? We can never lose that LOVE, unless we foolishly decide to give it up. 

And if you don’t believe me, then listen to what God’s Word says about it. ‘For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:38-39). What an awesome statement of LOVE, encouragement and assurance my people! Nothing…yes NOTHING can separate us from God’s LOVE found in Christ Jesus! 

Wow! How big and beautiful is that knowledge eh! That brings us to question then, why do we act powerless, afraid and discouraged when we have all those wonderful assurances from our omnipotent and ever-faithful God? Remember, there is only one thing that can match the LOVE of God, and that’s His wrath! So, what do we need to experience then eh, His LOVE or His wrath? We might say the former, but too often we behave like it is His wrath we want to experience. 

Why then the stubborn disobedience, the foolish pride and the overwhelming ungodliness that’s permeating our world eh? We must think that He’s joking when He speaks of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Otherwise, why would we behave in the foolish and disobedient manner that we’ve manifested in this last generation? We’ve come to value the easy life with all its amenities so much, that we are unwilling to make any sacrifices whatsoever to uplift ourselves or others. 

But we talk about living for Jesus…Hogwash! Heifer Dust! How can you be living for Jesus when you don’t want to make sacrifices eh, when living for Jesus is all about making sacrifices in His name? He said it Himself. If we want to be His disciples, we have to die to ourselves, give up our will, surrender it to His, then take up our cross and follow Him. Now that does not necessarily mean living a broken down, destitute life, but it does mean willing to do it if that’s what He asks of you, although He does not usually go to such lengths. 

And there is something else that we’ve also lost in this past generation…that’s the joy of brotherhood. Remember the marvellous and ever so truthful words of Bruh David from Psalm 133? ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment (oil) upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard : that went down to the skirts (edge) of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.’ (Ps. 133:1-3) 

We obviously have forgotten that living together in unity, be it at the family or nation level is a blessed thing, authored by our God. Else why would our world be in such turmoil, with resentment, anger, hatred and fighting oh so prevalent, right from the basic family unit up through to national scene itself? There’s war and rumours of war all over the world, and the uncertainty and disagreements over the Covid 19 pandemic has only served to make matters even worse. And as each new variant of the virus crops up, our world becomes more discombobulated and separated. 

I don’t know what it will take for us to realize that the only option left to us is turning back to the God of our forefathers, whom we have so petulantly, that’s childishly and unwisely tried to drive out of our society. We obviously can’t seem to fix what’s wrong on our own, because everything we try turns out worse and there appears to be no agreement on anything at all these days, for everybody is up in arms about something or the other, whether it be the virus, the climate, the economy, race and gender problems, religious differences, etc. etc. 

No one seems satisfied with the status quo, and all want their concerns to be met with and fixed immediately, if not yesterday. What else can we expect then but deep dissatisfaction and disaffection throughout our individual societies and the world at large. And a good point to note here, the natural disasters also seem to be getting worse, with more fires, floods, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and famines all happening at the same time. There’s no doubt that our world is in a mess, and at a most important crossroad in time. 

Who knows what the future holds? Only Almighty God! The same one we are trying to rid our society of. But friends, wisdom and common sense decree that if we want to right our world, a major revival in the name of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to go! For He is the Saviour, the ONLY ONE who has the power to calm the storm, right the sinking ship, heal the sick and lift up the dead to eternal life. And do we ever need those divine remedies in our world right now my people! So let’s try and get wise nuh, and turn back to Jesus…that is, if we want our world to survive the death throes it’s currently experiencing. 

Now, for those of us who are trying to do the right thing, live sincerely for Jesus, let’s go home declaring (oh yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are, to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

And having made those magnificent statements, it now behooves us to go out and share the reality with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Jesus like we do. Much LOVE!

…to whom do you turn when the chips are down…Jesus!…Yahweh!…Jehovah!… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 May 2020 Matthew 22:36

01 May 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 22:36.    ​Master (Teacher), which is the great commandment in the law?
 
‘May Day, May Day, May Day, May Day, May Day, Brad May wins it in overtime….!’ That was the memorable call of announcer Rick Jeanneret on April 24 1993 when tough guy Brad May scored the overtime winner in the hockey playoff game between the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins. But ‘Mayday’ is also an internationally recognized radio word to signal distress. May 1, is also celebrated as May Day, a rite of spring with flowers, maypole dances and other gaiety. 

And last but not least, May Day, May 1 is also a day to celebrate workers rights, ‘commemorating the many historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement,’ and it’s a holiday in many of the approximately 66 countries in which it’s celebrated. Although, according to one web site, the recognition of the Labour Movement is not celebrated on that day in the country where it all began, the U.S. In both the U.S and Canada Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. 

So May Day is really many things in our modern society. And I guess May 1 2020 will also go down in history as the May Day that the Coronavirus pandemic kept us all indoors, with no real celebrations of spring, or labour rights, or anything really! (smile) But them’s the breaks mih people, we just got to grin and bear them! And I wonder how the ordinary workingman is taking it all eh? 

Here’s how: ‘Chuh! Ah tired saying TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui, because it don’t really have no more real significance. Every day is just like the one that went before, and the next one that coming. Nothing different to look forward to. Hn! Never thought I’d ever miss going to work nuh! But such is life. Ah guess when yuh accustomed doing something for so long, to just drop it without no warning for so long does bring some yearning for it. The slave master must be livid too since his business shut down completely and he not making any money. 

But I know he home resting comfortably, not having any real wants, because he personally could afford the shut down, is the people who working for him that can’t afford it. And sometimes now, when I see the protests about going back to work it gets me angry, and I want to join in. But the sensible part in me warns me that we need to take things easy and sensible, because if we open back up too soon, this virus chupidness could just resurrect its deadly head again! Steups! So who really have the answers eh? Hope they find a way to stop it soon yes, else we might just have riots in the street, with so much people not having much money or food to eat! Ah Lord, what’s next eh?’ 

And did our ordinary workingman hit the nail right on the head there mih bredrin! Things are indeed getting somewhat tense this last meeting. But as I said yesterday, our leaders are damned if they do, or damned if they don’t! Because there are so many people calling for either the lockdown, or reopen action, they really find themselves in a rather tough situation. It’s certainly a tough time to be a leader, and history will merely judge them by the eventual results, without any consideration to the many unknown variables that were then playing out. 

But my fellow saints in Christ, we have one solid answer, or starting point for it all; that most satisfying form of communication between ourselves and the impregnable fortress we call God; we talking about prayer! So let’s get to talking to Him nuh, through our rejigged Friday Chant for this Covid-19 season. All together now, as one strong voice, with sincere and pleading hearts: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. It’s been pretty rough…though not from work, but from all the confusion and havoc that the Covid -19 virus causing. We not accustomed to that Lord, and it really telling on us. 

But with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat this virus. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the  least amount of loss to life and property as possible. 

And please use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, and also introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Ah friends, we just have to keep on praying and hoping and eagerly and expectantly waiting in strong faith for God to move, while doing whatever little we can do to help the situation, be it stay at home and observe social distancing, or be out there on the front lines standing strong and steadfast, if you’re an essential worker! There’s only one thing we can be sure of; this too will pass, as so many other tragedies have. We just have to wait for God’s time. 

And the Good Book opened this morning to this most appropriate scripture, the words of the Lord our God through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah. ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen (prophets) over you, saying, hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.’ (Jer. 6:16-17) 

Oh my people that accounts for a lot of our problems right there! Our stubborn disobedience and hard-heartedness has made our lives unnecessarily difficult. And when you factor in our sinful, foolish and impossible effort to remove God completely from our society, it just makes our situation even worse. And God said it quite plainly through Jeremiah. ‘Hear, O earth: behold I will bring evil (calamity) upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.’ (Jer. 6:19) 

And the Lord did indeed punish Israel for not obeying Him. So why yuh think He won’t do the same to our ever so sinful and disobedient society eh? And please don’t tell me any foolishness about that was the Old Testament! For neither do God’s laws nor His nature change! The only thing that has really changed from the Old to the New Testament is Jesus coming and allowing us to be saved and our sins atoned for by grace and His precious blood, rather than animal blood sacrifices. The Ten Commandments are still the Ten Commandments, regardless of whether we faithfully teach them or display them publicly. 

And likewise, the answer to the sarcastic, pompous and tempting question: ‘Master (Teacher), which is the great commandment in the law?’ Per Jesus, it’s still the same as it always was and ever shall be: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22: 37-40) 

Precious people, until this world starts acknowledging that Almighty God is its Creator, Provider and Controller and that we need to admire, reverence and exalt His Holy Name, while walking in sincere LOVE for each other, our world will never know real or true peace and contentment! Much LOVE!

…where there is no vision (divine revelation)…the people perish… (Prov. 29:14a)